Former British No.1 Tim Henman has said it is only a matter of time before Novak Djokovic is considered alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as one of the greatest players of all time.
After his victory in Monte Carlo on Sunday, Djokovic became the first man to win the opening three Masters titles of the season and has been installed as the early favourite to triumph at the French Open next month.
Although a win at Roland Garros would bring Djokovic's first French Open title, it would be his ninth Grand Slam overall and Henman said it will not be long before the world No.1 is competing with Federer and Nadal to be the most decorated player in history.
"At the moment it's purely a numbers game," Henman said. "Nadal has won 14 Grand Slams and Federer has 17.
"Djokovic has won eight but in the not too distant future that number is going to climb to 11, 12, 13 and maybe more.
"When he does that, absolutely, he will go down as one of the greatest to have ever played the game."
Djokovic has won 17 matches in a row and further cemented his position as the best player in the world with Sunday's 7-5 4-6 6-3 win over Tomas Berdych. The victory meant that the Serb has now won as many Masters titles as Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray combined since 2011.
Just as significant, though, was Djokovic's dismantling of Rafael Nadal in the semi-final, which has led many to say that the Serb is primed finally to end Nadal's dominance in Paris, where he has won nine times and is unbeaten since 2009.
"Djokovic is the machine," Henman said. "It's the way he's hitting the ball from the baseline, how aggressively he plays and how he does it with so few unforced errors.
"And then his movement and his athleticism - his ability to turn defence into attack is as good as I have ever seen."
If Djokovic were to continue his run of form, he could become the first player to win all four Grand Slams in a season since Rod Laver in 1969, but Henman said such a feat is an even greater challenge in the modern game.
"In theory it's possible, he's looking so strong at the moment, but I think it's unlikely," he said.
"The odds are against him because to win seven best-of-five matches is difficult enough but to do that four times in a year and remain injury-free is very, very difficult.
"Laver was the last man to do it and that was when three of the four Slams were on grass and in a very different era. Djokovic has never won the French so that's still his biggest challenge - it's tough to look past Nadal when you see his record there."